1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a receptacle, more particularly, to a receptacle for use in an electronic apparatus such as a DVD player, a TV set, an STB, an AV receiver, a personal computer, a PDA or a cellular phone.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally known receptacles typically comprise a housing having a reception port for receiving an optical signal transmission plug, and a photoelectric converter housed in the housing for transferring and receiving an optical signal to/from the optical signal transmission plug.
Such a receptacle generally has terminals extending from the photoelectric converter out of the housing through through-holes formed in a printed circuit board. The terminals are soldered to the printed circuit board, whereby the receptacle is fixed onto the printed circuit board.
Various receptacle fixing methods and structures have been conceived for more easily and assuredly fixing the receptacle on the printed circuit board.
An exemplary receptacle fixing method hitherto known is such that a receptacle (connector) is temporarily fixed to a printed circuit board by a screw by means of a fixing jig and permanently fixed to the printed circuit board by soldering terminals to the printed circuit board (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 11-167966 (1999)).
An exemplary receptacle fixing structure hitherto known is such that a metal pin projecting upright from a printed circuit board is press-fitted in a hole formed in a fixing portion of a receptacle (connector) and then heated to be fuse-bonded to the fixing portion (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-56186).
In general, the plug is repeatedly connected to and disconnected from the receptacle fixed to the printed circuit board. For the connection and disconnection of the plug, the plug should be inserted into the receptacle exactly in a predetermined insertion direction and withdrawn from the receptacle exactly in a predetermined withdrawal direction. However, the plug is often forcibly inserted into and withdrawn from the receptacle in directions not conforming to the predetermined insertion and withdrawal directions thereby to distort the receptacle.
The forcible insertion and withdrawal of the plug exert stresses on soldered portions of the terminals and, in the worst case, the soldered portions are cracked to cause a connection failure. Therefore, there is a demand for a receptacle fixing structure which exerts no stress on the soldered portions of the terminals even if the plug is forcibly inserted into or withdrawn from the receptacle.